Ironies of Faith

Ironies of Faith

Author: Anthony Esolen

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2023-04-04

Total Pages: 429

ISBN-13: 1684516234

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In Ironies of Faith, celebrated Dante scholar and translator Anthony Esolen provides a profound meditation upon the use and place of irony in Christian art and in the Christian life. Beginning with an extended analysis of irony as an essentially dramatic device, Esolen explores those manifestations of irony that appear prominently in Christian thinking and art: ironies of time (for Christians believe in divine Providence, but live in a world whose moments pass away); ironies of power (for Christians believe in an almighty God who took on human flesh, and whose "weakness" is stronger than our greatest enemy, death); ironies of love (for man seldom knows whom to love, or how, or even whom it is that in the depths of his heart he loves best); and the figure of the Child (for Christians ever hear the warning voice of their Savior, who says that unless we become like unto one of these little ones, we shall not enter the Kingdom of God). Esolen's finely wrought study draws from Augustine, Dante, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Mauriac, Milton Herbert, Hopkins, and Dostoyevsky, among others, including the anonymous author of the medieval poem Pearl. Such authors, Anthony Esolen believes, teach us that the last laugh is on the world, because that grim old world, taking itself so seriously that even its laughter is a sneer, will finally - despite its proud resistance - be redeemed. That is the ultimate irony of faith. Readers who treasure the Christian literary tradition should not miss this illuminating book.


Book Synopsis Ironies of Faith by : Anthony Esolen

Download or read book Ironies of Faith written by Anthony Esolen and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2023-04-04 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Ironies of Faith, celebrated Dante scholar and translator Anthony Esolen provides a profound meditation upon the use and place of irony in Christian art and in the Christian life. Beginning with an extended analysis of irony as an essentially dramatic device, Esolen explores those manifestations of irony that appear prominently in Christian thinking and art: ironies of time (for Christians believe in divine Providence, but live in a world whose moments pass away); ironies of power (for Christians believe in an almighty God who took on human flesh, and whose "weakness" is stronger than our greatest enemy, death); ironies of love (for man seldom knows whom to love, or how, or even whom it is that in the depths of his heart he loves best); and the figure of the Child (for Christians ever hear the warning voice of their Savior, who says that unless we become like unto one of these little ones, we shall not enter the Kingdom of God). Esolen's finely wrought study draws from Augustine, Dante, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Mauriac, Milton Herbert, Hopkins, and Dostoyevsky, among others, including the anonymous author of the medieval poem Pearl. Such authors, Anthony Esolen believes, teach us that the last laugh is on the world, because that grim old world, taking itself so seriously that even its laughter is a sneer, will finally - despite its proud resistance - be redeemed. That is the ultimate irony of faith. Readers who treasure the Christian literary tradition should not miss this illuminating book.


The Irony of the Cross

The Irony of the Cross

Author: Paul D. Shirley

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2017-02-17

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 9781543211962

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The cross of Christ is the greatest irony in the history of the universe. It is far too easy to lose track of the paradoxical details of Christ's death. Familiarity replaces what should be shock as we read through the Passion narrative. The Irony of the Cross puts the shock back in the cross by highlighting the ironies of Christ's death. Examining Mark 15:21-29, this book identifies eleven ironies of the cross that will deepen your understanding of the death of Christ and the gospel of grace. Each of these presents Jesus eschewing the prerogatives of his power for the salvation of his people. There is no other point in time when Christ was more emptied and stripped of his divine dignity, and yet there is no other place where Christ's glory is more prominently displayed.


Book Synopsis The Irony of the Cross by : Paul D. Shirley

Download or read book The Irony of the Cross written by Paul D. Shirley and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-02-17 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The cross of Christ is the greatest irony in the history of the universe. It is far too easy to lose track of the paradoxical details of Christ's death. Familiarity replaces what should be shock as we read through the Passion narrative. The Irony of the Cross puts the shock back in the cross by highlighting the ironies of Christ's death. Examining Mark 15:21-29, this book identifies eleven ironies of the cross that will deepen your understanding of the death of Christ and the gospel of grace. Each of these presents Jesus eschewing the prerogatives of his power for the salvation of his people. There is no other point in time when Christ was more emptied and stripped of his divine dignity, and yet there is no other place where Christ's glory is more prominently displayed.


Images of Faith

Images of Faith

Author: William F. Lynch

Publisher:

Published: 1973

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK


Book Synopsis Images of Faith by : William F. Lynch

Download or read book Images of Faith written by William F. Lynch and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Divine Irony

Divine Irony

Author: Glenn Stanfield Holland

Publisher: Susquehanna University Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9781575910321

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Ultimately, irony appears to be a term with no definitive meaning, the product of a critical enterprise that over time identified particular literary devices and perspectives a irony."--BOOK JACKET.


Book Synopsis Divine Irony by : Glenn Stanfield Holland

Download or read book Divine Irony written by Glenn Stanfield Holland and published by Susquehanna University Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ultimately, irony appears to be a term with no definitive meaning, the product of a critical enterprise that over time identified particular literary devices and perspectives a irony."--BOOK JACKET.


The Ironic Christian's Companion

The Ironic Christian's Companion

Author: Patrick Henry

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2000-02-01

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1101664711

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A prominent religious scholar who isn't afraid to shake our assumptions and probe our imaginations, Patrick Henry has written a guide for the "ironic Christian"—one who strives to integrate truth with faith, to let an expanding knowledge of the world translate into an expanded understanding of God. Drawing on the works of a diverse group of writers and thinkers, from C.S. Lewis and Julian of Norwich to Anne Sexton, Yogi Berra, and Dr. Seuss, he explores the ways in which we can maintain our belief in a God defined by mysteriousness. With humor, humility, and courage, he asks us to join him in this spiritual quest—and in the dizzying, thrilling leaps that faith invites.


Book Synopsis The Ironic Christian's Companion by : Patrick Henry

Download or read book The Ironic Christian's Companion written by Patrick Henry and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2000-02-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A prominent religious scholar who isn't afraid to shake our assumptions and probe our imaginations, Patrick Henry has written a guide for the "ironic Christian"—one who strives to integrate truth with faith, to let an expanding knowledge of the world translate into an expanded understanding of God. Drawing on the works of a diverse group of writers and thinkers, from C.S. Lewis and Julian of Norwich to Anne Sexton, Yogi Berra, and Dr. Seuss, he explores the ways in which we can maintain our belief in a God defined by mysteriousness. With humor, humility, and courage, he asks us to join him in this spiritual quest—and in the dizzying, thrilling leaps that faith invites.


Irony in the Matthean Passion Narrative

Irony in the Matthean Passion Narrative

Author: InHee C. Berg

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2014-05-01

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 1451484321

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Irony (as used here) is a rhetorical and literary device for revealing “what is hidden behind what is seen.” It thus offers the reader a superior understanding by means of the distinction between reality and its shadow. The book provides a history of different definitions of irony, from Aristophanes to Booth; discusses the constitutive formal elements of irony and the functions of irony; then studies particular aspects of the Matthean Passion Narrative that require the reader to recognize a deeper truth beneath the surface of the narrative.


Book Synopsis Irony in the Matthean Passion Narrative by : InHee C. Berg

Download or read book Irony in the Matthean Passion Narrative written by InHee C. Berg and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Irony (as used here) is a rhetorical and literary device for revealing “what is hidden behind what is seen.” It thus offers the reader a superior understanding by means of the distinction between reality and its shadow. The book provides a history of different definitions of irony, from Aristophanes to Booth; discusses the constitutive formal elements of irony and the functions of irony; then studies particular aspects of the Matthean Passion Narrative that require the reader to recognize a deeper truth beneath the surface of the narrative.


Man Seeks God

Man Seeks God

Author: Eric Weiner

Publisher: Twelve

Published: 2011-12-05

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 1455505706

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Bestselling author of Geography of Bliss returns with this funny, illuminating chronicle of a globe-spanning spiritual quest to find a faith that fits. When a health scare puts him in the hospital, Eric Weiner-an agnostic by default-finds himself tangling with an unexpected question, posed to him by a well-meaning nurse. "Have you found your God yet?" The thought of it nags him, and prods him-and ultimately launches him on a far-flung journey to do just that. Weiner, a longtime "spiritual voyeur" and inveterate traveler, realizes that while he has been privy to a wide range of religious practices, he's never seriously considered these concepts in his own life. Face to face with his own mortality, and spurred on by the question of what spiritual principles to impart to his young daughter, he decides to correct this omission, undertaking a worldwide exploration of religions and hoping to come, if he can, to a personal understanding of the divine. The journey that results is rich in insight, humor, and heart. Willing to do anything to better understand faith, and to find the god or gods that speak to him, he travels to Nepal, where he meditates with Tibetan lamas and a guy named Wayne. He sojourns to Turkey, where he whirls (not so well, as it turns out) with Sufi dervishes. He heads to China, where he attempts to unblock his chi; to Israel, where he studies Kabbalah, sans Madonna; and to Las Vegas, where he has a close encounter with Raelians (followers of the world's largest UFO-based religion). At each stop along the way, Weiner tackles our most pressing spiritual questions: Where do we come from? What happens when we die? How should we live our lives? Where do all the missing socks go? With his trademark wit and warmth, he leaves no stone unturned. At a time when more Americans than ever are choosing a new faith, and when spiritual questions loom large in the modern age, Man Seeks God presents a perspective on religion that is sure to delight, inspire, and entertain.


Book Synopsis Man Seeks God by : Eric Weiner

Download or read book Man Seeks God written by Eric Weiner and published by Twelve. This book was released on 2011-12-05 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bestselling author of Geography of Bliss returns with this funny, illuminating chronicle of a globe-spanning spiritual quest to find a faith that fits. When a health scare puts him in the hospital, Eric Weiner-an agnostic by default-finds himself tangling with an unexpected question, posed to him by a well-meaning nurse. "Have you found your God yet?" The thought of it nags him, and prods him-and ultimately launches him on a far-flung journey to do just that. Weiner, a longtime "spiritual voyeur" and inveterate traveler, realizes that while he has been privy to a wide range of religious practices, he's never seriously considered these concepts in his own life. Face to face with his own mortality, and spurred on by the question of what spiritual principles to impart to his young daughter, he decides to correct this omission, undertaking a worldwide exploration of religions and hoping to come, if he can, to a personal understanding of the divine. The journey that results is rich in insight, humor, and heart. Willing to do anything to better understand faith, and to find the god or gods that speak to him, he travels to Nepal, where he meditates with Tibetan lamas and a guy named Wayne. He sojourns to Turkey, where he whirls (not so well, as it turns out) with Sufi dervishes. He heads to China, where he attempts to unblock his chi; to Israel, where he studies Kabbalah, sans Madonna; and to Las Vegas, where he has a close encounter with Raelians (followers of the world's largest UFO-based religion). At each stop along the way, Weiner tackles our most pressing spiritual questions: Where do we come from? What happens when we die? How should we live our lives? Where do all the missing socks go? With his trademark wit and warmth, he leaves no stone unturned. At a time when more Americans than ever are choosing a new faith, and when spiritual questions loom large in the modern age, Man Seeks God presents a perspective on religion that is sure to delight, inspire, and entertain.


Redemptive Reversals and the Ironic Overturning of Human Wisdom

Redemptive Reversals and the Ironic Overturning of Human Wisdom

Author: Gregory K. Beale

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2019-11-05

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1433563312

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” –Matthew 19:30 The Bible is full of ironic situations in which God overturns the world’s wisdom by doing the opposite of what is expected—people are punished by their own sin, the persecution of the church is the catalyst for its growth, Paul claims to have strength through weakness, and more. In this book, biblical scholar G. K. Beale explores God’s pattern of divine irony in both judgment and salvation, finding its greatest expression in Jesus’s triumph over death through death on a cross. Unpacking this pattern throughout redemptive history, Beale shows us how God often uses what is seemingly weak and foolish to underscore his own strength and power in the lives of his people today.


Book Synopsis Redemptive Reversals and the Ironic Overturning of Human Wisdom by : Gregory K. Beale

Download or read book Redemptive Reversals and the Ironic Overturning of Human Wisdom written by Gregory K. Beale and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” –Matthew 19:30 The Bible is full of ironic situations in which God overturns the world’s wisdom by doing the opposite of what is expected—people are punished by their own sin, the persecution of the church is the catalyst for its growth, Paul claims to have strength through weakness, and more. In this book, biblical scholar G. K. Beale explores God’s pattern of divine irony in both judgment and salvation, finding its greatest expression in Jesus’s triumph over death through death on a cross. Unpacking this pattern throughout redemptive history, Beale shows us how God often uses what is seemingly weak and foolish to underscore his own strength and power in the lives of his people today.


To Change the World

To Change the World

Author: James Davison Hunter

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-04-14

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 9780199779529

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The call to make the world a better place is inherent in the Christian belief and practice. But why have efforts to change the world by Christians so often failed or gone tragically awry? And how might Christians in the 21st century live in ways that have integrity with their traditions and are more truly transformative? In To Change the World, James Davison Hunter offers persuasive--and provocative--answers to these questions. Hunter begins with a penetrating appraisal of the most popular models of world-changing among Christians today, highlighting the ways they are inherently flawed and therefore incapable of generating the change to which they aspire. Because change implies power, all Christian eventually embrace strategies of political engagement. Hunter offers a trenchant critique of the political theologies of the Christian Right and Left and the Neo-Anabaptists, taking on many respected leaders, from Charles Colson to Jim Wallis and Stanley Hauerwas. Hunter argues that all too often these political theologies worsen the very problems they are designed to solve. What is really needed is a different paradigm of Christian engagement with the world, one that Hunter calls "faithful presence"--an ideal of Christian practice that is not only individual but institutional; a model that plays out not only in all relationships but in our work and all spheres of social life. He offers real-life examples, large and small, of what can be accomplished through the practice of "faithful presence." Such practices will be more fruitful, Hunter argues, more exemplary, and more deeply transfiguring than any more overtly ambitious attempts can ever be. Written with keen insight, deep faith, and profound historical grasp, To Change the World will forever change the way Christians view and talk about their role in the modern world.


Book Synopsis To Change the World by : James Davison Hunter

Download or read book To Change the World written by James Davison Hunter and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-14 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The call to make the world a better place is inherent in the Christian belief and practice. But why have efforts to change the world by Christians so often failed or gone tragically awry? And how might Christians in the 21st century live in ways that have integrity with their traditions and are more truly transformative? In To Change the World, James Davison Hunter offers persuasive--and provocative--answers to these questions. Hunter begins with a penetrating appraisal of the most popular models of world-changing among Christians today, highlighting the ways they are inherently flawed and therefore incapable of generating the change to which they aspire. Because change implies power, all Christian eventually embrace strategies of political engagement. Hunter offers a trenchant critique of the political theologies of the Christian Right and Left and the Neo-Anabaptists, taking on many respected leaders, from Charles Colson to Jim Wallis and Stanley Hauerwas. Hunter argues that all too often these political theologies worsen the very problems they are designed to solve. What is really needed is a different paradigm of Christian engagement with the world, one that Hunter calls "faithful presence"--an ideal of Christian practice that is not only individual but institutional; a model that plays out not only in all relationships but in our work and all spheres of social life. He offers real-life examples, large and small, of what can be accomplished through the practice of "faithful presence." Such practices will be more fruitful, Hunter argues, more exemplary, and more deeply transfiguring than any more overtly ambitious attempts can ever be. Written with keen insight, deep faith, and profound historical grasp, To Change the World will forever change the way Christians view and talk about their role in the modern world.


Irony and Jesus

Irony and Jesus

Author: Rob Gieselmann

Publisher:

Published: 2019-12-08

Total Pages: 142

ISBN-13: 9781955821155

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Did Jesus really expect people to sell all their possessions, or to hate their fathers and mothers? Or...is it possible that both Jesus and the gospel writers used literary devices to layer a variety of meanings into the fabric of Jesus' life and the stories he told? On the surface, the stories appear to mean one thing, but beneath the surface surprises lurk! In this book, Rob Gieselmann, presents parables, stories, and actions of Jesus to re-view them in the light of irony. In Irony and Jesus, you will find eleven instances of stories found in the gospels, plus one found in the Good Friday tradition, explored through interpretations often ignored or hidden by mainstream interpreters. For example, when Jesus scolded Peter for lacking faith while walking on water, Peter sank. What if Jesus scolded Peter not for his immature faith's inability to hold him afloat, but instead because Peter lacked the faith necessary to stay in the boat? We often treat scripture as a judgmental school teacher rather than as a gentle mentor leading us into a more mature experience of faith. Yet, so much of Jesus and his words, are, in the end, about the fact that God really does love everybody--everybody, scandalously, which must mean, in the end, that God loves you, just as you are. What if you read scripture through that lens, rather than the more typical judgmental lens? A lens like that can change a life. As Rob likes to say, "I am not literal about scripture; I am not literal about hierarchical authority; I am literal about grace." In these pages, you will discover a literal grace to renew your faith. A priest in the Episcopal Church, Rob has taught Scripture for over twenty years, encouraging students to look behind scripture's veil of words to discover creative and unexpected wisdom. His previous books include, The Episcopal Call to Love, and A Walk Through the Churchyard.


Book Synopsis Irony and Jesus by : Rob Gieselmann

Download or read book Irony and Jesus written by Rob Gieselmann and published by . This book was released on 2019-12-08 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did Jesus really expect people to sell all their possessions, or to hate their fathers and mothers? Or...is it possible that both Jesus and the gospel writers used literary devices to layer a variety of meanings into the fabric of Jesus' life and the stories he told? On the surface, the stories appear to mean one thing, but beneath the surface surprises lurk! In this book, Rob Gieselmann, presents parables, stories, and actions of Jesus to re-view them in the light of irony. In Irony and Jesus, you will find eleven instances of stories found in the gospels, plus one found in the Good Friday tradition, explored through interpretations often ignored or hidden by mainstream interpreters. For example, when Jesus scolded Peter for lacking faith while walking on water, Peter sank. What if Jesus scolded Peter not for his immature faith's inability to hold him afloat, but instead because Peter lacked the faith necessary to stay in the boat? We often treat scripture as a judgmental school teacher rather than as a gentle mentor leading us into a more mature experience of faith. Yet, so much of Jesus and his words, are, in the end, about the fact that God really does love everybody--everybody, scandalously, which must mean, in the end, that God loves you, just as you are. What if you read scripture through that lens, rather than the more typical judgmental lens? A lens like that can change a life. As Rob likes to say, "I am not literal about scripture; I am not literal about hierarchical authority; I am literal about grace." In these pages, you will discover a literal grace to renew your faith. A priest in the Episcopal Church, Rob has taught Scripture for over twenty years, encouraging students to look behind scripture's veil of words to discover creative and unexpected wisdom. His previous books include, The Episcopal Call to Love, and A Walk Through the Churchyard.